Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Shortlisted: Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books 2013

Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books shortlist in running for
bigger reward

Winner
to be announced: 25 November 2013

The
six books on the shortlist for the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books
are competing for a much larger cash prize this year. The eclectic and fascinating shortlist books
are vying for the
world’s most prestigious award for popular science writing.

The prize money for the winner has increased
from £10,000 to £25,000 while the
authors of each of the shortlisted books will receive £2,500 instead of the previous £1,000 award. The
shortlist, announced today (25 September 2013), is composed of:

Bird
Sense by Tim Birkhead, published by Bloomsbury

What
it’s like to be a bird

The
judges said: “Bird Sense opens new worlds to the imagination through a wealth
of passionately observed science. It succeeds in conveying a feeling of what it
is like to be a bird.”

The
Particle at the End of the Universe by Sean Carroll, published by OneWorld
Publications

The
hunt for the Higgs and the discovery of a new world

The
judges said: “This book invites you to imagine the unimaginable. It tells an
extraordinary tale of scientific discovery and stands out by its ability to speak
to people who are not scientists.”

Cells
to Civilizations by Enrico Coen, published by Princeton University Press

The
principles of change that shape life

The
judges said: “Cells to Civilizations presents an exciting challenge to our
thinking on how evolution works. It is unbelievably alive and we could feel our
brains growing as we read.”

Pieces
of Light by Charles Fernyhough, published by Profile Books

The
new science of memory

The
judges said: “Our memories of reading this book are exceptionally good ones! It
challenges much of what we think we know about memory. It’s a bit like reading
a novel, personal and compulsive!”

The
Book of Barely Imagined Beings by Caspar Henderson, published by Granta

A
21st century bestiary

The
judges said: “Henderson taps into forgotten wonder we first felt as children
discovering the creatures of our world. It borrows its format from ancient
bestiaries and its title from Borges’ extraordinary tales. The book itself is a
beautiful object and brings barely imagined beings to life.”

Ocean
of Life by Callum Roberts, published by Allen Lane (Penguin Books)

How
our seas are changing

The
judges said: “Roberts sets modern conservation in context. For instance he has
taken fisheries science and channelled it into the mainstream debate. This book
is thrilling: a delightful mix of anecdote, research and polemic.”

Professor Uta Frith DBE FBA FMedSci FRS, Chair of the judges, said: “What
stood out for us most was the sheer originality and the ambition of the books we
selected for the short list. Here are books that have not only new things to
say but also novel ways to say them in. We were delighted to be able to select
from a wide range of superbly written science books, authoritative,
approachable, and moreover, thrilling to read.”

The winner will be announced at a public
event at the Royal Society on 25th November 2013.

William Hill’s odds for the
shortlisted books are as follows:

3/1 Bird Sense by Tim Birkhead

7/2 The Particle at the End of the Universe by
Sean Carroll

4/1 Ocean of Life by Callum Roberts

5/1 Cells to Civilization by Enrico Coen

5/1 Pieces of Light by Charles Fernyhough

5/1 The Book of Barely Imagined Beings by Caspar
Henderson

Graham Sharpe, Media Relations Director
at William Hill, said: “This
year has been one of the toughest to select a favourite – the books are all so
evenly matched! One thing is definite, they all make very interesting and fun
reads. I think this year’s judges have quite a task ahead of them deciding
their winner!”

The judges on this year’s judging
panel are Jon Culshaw, impressionist and comedian; Dr Emily Flashman, Royal
Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow at University of Oxford; Professor Uta Frith DBE
FBA FRS (Chair), Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Development at University
College London; Joanne Harris, novelist and author of Chocolat; and Lucy
Siegle, journalist and writer on environmental issues.

Commencing in
2011, the global investment management company Winton Capital Management agreed
a five year sponsorship deal of the prize.

The book has also made the shortlist for the Society of Biology Book Awards in the General Biology book section. The prize will be awarded at a ceremony in London on 17 October.

Buy A Box Of Birds

Buy Pieces of Light (UK)

A Box of Birds: Reviews

'Arrestingly good prose… A thought-provoking novel that wrestles with the fundamentals of human nature.' Financial Times

'The plot, which flies past at genuine ‘page turner’ pace, involves a race to map the (fictional) Lorenzo Circuit, ‘the deep root-system of the self… the basis of memory, emotion and consciousness in the human brain’… I’m grateful for the siren warnings from the storytelling machine that is Charles Fernyhough.' The Psychologist

'A pleasantly sardonic narrator… There is… a certain edgy propulsion to the story, and the reveal of what is really going on in the bowels of Sansom’s research centre is deliciously horrible and deftly understated.' Guardian

'Part love story, part race against time to beat the baddies, Fernyhough can certainly write.' Daily Mail

'It’s rare these days to read a writer who cares about ideas in the way that the great nineteenth-century novelists did... This is both a serious novel and a great read.' Sara Maitland

'Exhilarating, thought-provoking and well worth the wait.' Andrew Crumey

Pieces of Light: Reviews

'Pieces of Light is utterly fascinating and superbly written. I learned more about memory from this book than any other. There are few science books around of this class.' Guardian

'Thoughtful… a deft guide to discoveries that have led memory researchers to stress the centrality of storytelling.' Booklist

'As absorbing as it is thought-provoking.' Sunday Business Post

'Remarkable storytelling skills... Seamlessly intersperses the personal aspects of [his] journey with descriptions of cutting-edge research into spatial naviation and memory manipulation, as well as new ideas about how memory works.' Moheb Costandi, Scientific American MIND

'With elegance and clinical sympathy, Fernyhough tells the stories of patients with various forms of brain damage that result in amnesia... a good, accessible read for anyone interested in their own recollections.' Professor Steven Rose, BBC Focus Magazine

'An absorbing guidebook to the mysterious terrain of human memory... In the tradition of Oliver Sacks’ casually shrewd scientific writing, the book blends dispatches from the frontiers of science with compassionate human anecdotes. Fernyhough’s enthralling narrative delivers gripping insight on the way memories shape our lives.'Editors’ Choice for w/c 19 March, iBookstore

'Weaving scientific research from psychology, neuroscience and evolutionary biology, Fernyhough explains that our brains don’t record experiences as cameras do; rather, we store key elements, then reconstruct the experiences when we need them, imbuing them with present-day feelings and the benefit of hindsight.' Washington Post(read more)

'In its stunning blend of the literary with the scientific, Pieces of Light illuminates ordinary and extraordinary stories to remind us that who we are now has everything to do with who we were once, and that identity itself is intricately rooted in transporting moments of remembrance. We are what we remember.' André Aciman, author of Out of Egypt and Harvard Square

'His examination [is] welcoming and accessible to lay readers. His analysis is wide-ranging... He also covers a wide swath of literary and historical ground... A refreshingly social take on an intensely personal experience.' Publishers Weekly (read more)

'A multidisciplinary approach to explaining memory... Will be intriguing for readers interested in the borderlands where memoir, fiction and science overlap.' Kirkus Reviews (read more)

'In this lyrical exploration of our powers of recall, psychologist and novelist Charles Fernyhough argues that our memories are worth cherishing - even though some of what we think we remember is, in fact, fiction.' New Scientist Books of the Year (read more)

'In Pieces of Light, Charles Fernyhough has had the arresting idea of writing a book about memory that is also a memoir. As a psychologist clearly well up on the latest research, he shows how memory itself relies on language and storytelling. Investigating his own memories with a writerly eye, he brings to vibrant life scenes from a childhood refreshingly free of misery.' Sunday Times Books of the Year (read more)

'In his hybrid of autobiography, journalism and pop psychology, Fernyhough lets the stories speak for themselves to highlight memory’s personal, subjective and fragile qualities. Fernyhough takes us on a captivating journey into the mind. And he does so with great style.' Telegraph (read more)

'Outstanding… Fernyhough’s skills as a writer are evident both in the beautiful prose and in the way he uses literature to illustrate his argument… He draws on both science and art to marvellous effect.' Observer (read more)

'Restrained and lyrical... an immense pleasure.' New Scientist (read more)

'A sophisticated blend of findings from science, ideas from literature and examples from personal narratives… refreshing, well judged and at times moving. This is an unusual book but a very rewarding one.' Times Higher Education (read more)

'Fernyhough deftly guides us through memory's many facets... Often using himself as a test case, he adds context with research and snippets from a raft of great writers. A thoughtful study of how we make sense of ourselves.' Nature (read more)

'Absorbing... In offering us a meditation on memory, Fernyhough has something important to say about one of the forces that is central to our lives.' The Lady (read more)

'Fernyhough is a gifted writer who can turn any experience into lively prose... The stories in Pieces of Light... will entertain anyone who reads them.' Financial Times (read more)

'Many popular science writers try to blend the autobiographical and the anecdotal into their work; few do it as seamlessly and successfully as Charles Fernyhough.' Blackwell's Book Podcasts (read more)

'Fernyhough argues that we don’t simply possess a memory; we reconstruct it anew every time we need to remember… Through his own experiences and those of others, from the very young to the very old, he explores the mystery of remembering and the ambiguity of forgetting.' Saga Magazine

'An enthralling investigation of that ‘thing’ we call memory… manages to write about complex things in a clear and understandable way.' Ian McMillan, The Verb

'Pieces of Light will both linger in your memory and change the way you think about it.’ Daniel L. Schacter